By Andrew Warshaw
September 12 – FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke is expecting a decision, in principle, for a switch to a Winter World Cup in 2022, which he says wlll in turn spark a round of intense discussion with all parties to find the best solution.
As the all-important FIFA executive committee meeting on October 3 and 4 nears, when members will be asked to formally back the principle of a one-off winter tournament in Qatar, so the various stakeholders are making their voices heard publically and, increasingly, privately.
The English Premier League has led the campaign to keep the World Cup in its traditional June and July slot and was supported this week by the Association of European Professional Leagues which issued a strong indictment of any shift.
Interestingly, Qatar itself has maintained a respectful and diplomatic silence throughout the process but Valcke said it was almost inevitable that the executive committee would support FIFA president Sepp Blatter and vote to move the tournament, however unpalatable that might be for certain stakeholders and traditionalists.
“I am sure that we will all come to an agreement that playing in summer presents some challenges and that winter is a better period to have the World Cup and that all the parties will agree on the date and the change of the calendar,” said Valcke.
“My role is then to make sure that we succeed and reach an agreement with all the different stakeholders.
“As long as we don’t have a decision in principle how can you ask the administration of FIFA to work on what are the consequences of moving the World Cup? So it makes sense that the decision is in principle it should be moved to winter for obvious reasons.
“We would then ask the different people to work with the different stakeholders on the international calendar and to see the consequences of moving the World Cup from here to another period on the dates for the leagues, the clubs and international match-days, etc.”
Significantly, Valcke revealed for the first time that if there is a switch, the World Cup would most likely take place in November and December – and not in January, the time favoured by UEFA president Michel Platini.
He also disclosed the consultation process for any switch would be concluded before next year’s World Cup in Brazil and that there was no chance of Qatar being stripped. “We are not talking about removing – we are talking about moving, that’s key.”
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